- one lime
- one lemon
Two clementines: One lemon; One lime
200 g caster sugar
Six whole cloves
One cinnamon stick
Three fresh bay leaves
One whole nutmeg, for grating
One vanilla pod
Two bottles of Chianti or other Italian red wine
Two star anise
Peel large sections of peel from the clementines, lemon and lime using a speed-peeler.
Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the clementine juice.
Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and about 10 to 12 gratings of nutmeg. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and add to the pan, then stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar.
Let this simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine, then bring to the boil. Keep on a rolling boil for about four to five minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup.
"The reason I’m doing this first is to create a wonderful flavour base by really getting the sugar and spices to infuse and blend well with the wine," Jamie explained.
It’s important to make a syrup base first because it needs to be quite hot, and if you do this with both bottles of wine in there you’ll burn off the alcohol.
When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of the wine. Gently heat the wine and after around five minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.
Jamie also shared an easy and delicious mulled wine sorbet recipe. He explained it is "a great way to put leftover booze to good use".
“Light, refreshing and really unusual, this festive sorbet is a great idea for Christmas lunch,” he said.
Two ice cube trays frozen mulled wine
Two tablespoons natural yoghurt or crème fraîche
He explained: "When it comes to mulled wine, I have a simple rule: always make more than you think you’ll need. Whenever I go to a party it always seems to run out. If you’re worried about wasting any leftovers, don’t be. You can pour it into ice cube trays and it will keep for months if you freeze it. Then, whenever anyone says, 'Oh I feel like dessert’ you can just pop some cubes out and make this lovely little sorbet for a totally unexpected treat."